It's been nearly 8 months of working from home and social distancing and we are entering the holiday season. In Minnesota, the days are getting colder and daylight shorter with the first snowfalls already behind us.
For some, COVID-19 has meant chaos, grief, and worry. For others, FOMO and boredom. Most people who work in an office setting have video meeting exhaustion; however, are also missing the personal connections that happen in the office. For me, I need things to look forward to and love to see activities on the calendar. I also like to lose myself in a project; which for some reason, feels better than binge-watching videos. Though, I'm not above doing that too.
Here's three Social Distance/Stay at Home Activities I'm excited about. If you try them, let me know how it went.
1) Meal (kit) with Friends
Schedule a virtual dinner with friends where everyone orders their own meal kit or finds a new recipe to try and show off while eating dinner on a video call. Purple Carrot is a plant-based meal kit delivery company. Other meal kit companies offer vegan and vegetarian options too. I've got this scheduled with friends and the Purple Carrot meals ordered. The question is: Japanese gnocchi with miso tomato butter & nori spice OR warm sweet potato and shiitake salad with orange and spicy peanut sauce? (Photos: Purple Carrot)
Purple Carrot offer $20 off your first order (I'm not affiliated, sponsored, nor compensated for sharing this.) I tried Purple Carrot this spring, and the recipes are relatively easy and surprisingly delicious. They also provide recipes so you can make dishes (including ones you didn't order). I don't get the meal kit too often because it is a lot of packaging, but they're a great treat.
For the virtual gathering, we've found Facebook messenger works well and is free.
BONUS: Another fun virtual hangout with friends is to play
Drawful 2 (it's like Pictionary without teams and MUCH funnier). (Costs $5/one time to buy the game.) Requires a little tech savvy to set up the shared screen (laptops) everyone sees and then the drawing devices (i.e. phones/iPads)
2)
Online Cooking Classes
Minnesota is the land of coop grocery stores, and many offer free cooking classes with plant-based recipes. You don't need to be a member to join! If you can't make the class, they often post the recipes to try on your time. My favorite recently was part of a series on Ugandan plant-based recipes where we learned how to
cook chapati and cassava or yuca; including yuca fries. The Ugandan recipes are offered by a
local entrepreneur, Henry Kisitu, who owns
Jajja Wellness tonics using his grandmother's recipes.
I'm a member of both cooperatives, and encourage you to become a member if you can afford it and enjoy these offerings.
3) Wilderness Getaway
Whether it's an hour walk on a work day or getting away for the weekend, getting outdoors and into nature has been a huge stress reliever and mood boost for me.
Minnesota State Parks have an annual pass ($35) and for $15 you can get a passport either the one for park visits, or for hiking the Hiking Club trail at each park. You don't need the passports, but they can be a fun motivator to try new parks. Since March, we've visited 16 state parks and witnessed three seasons (and that hint of winter coming.)
We spent a chilly fall weekend at Jay Cooke State Park recently in a camper cabin with electricity, heat, and a campground outhouse. After four hours of hiking, the crockpot bean and veggie stew was so much tastier than had we made it at home. You can prep the crockpot ingredients at home to minimize on prep and clean up at the cabin. Also, we kept it simple with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and fresh fruit for lunch and bring an electric tea kettle for oatmeal with trail mix and coffee/tea in a hurry.
The Peace of Wild Things
by Wendell Berry
When despair for the world grows in me
And I wake in the night at the least sound
In fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
Rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron
feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
Who do not tax their lives with forethought
Of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
Waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.
Also, DON'T FORGET TO VOTE BY TUES. NOV 3rd! We stopped at an in-person early voting site on the way to an after work walk.
